Sports

After becoming a two-time All Metro Swimmer of the Year, amassing 7 State meet gold medals, 3 State trophies, and cementing himself in infamy on the record board, senior Cooper Scharff will be continuing his swimming conquest at the University of Wisconsin next year. For Scharff, the transition to college athletics is the next stepping stone towards his ultimate goal of Olympic trials. 

The basketball team has gotten off to a roaring 9-2 start this year, finishing second in the Blue Springs Tournament, winning the SLUH Legends of Winter Classic Tournament, and garnering a marquee win over longtime MCC rival Chaminade. 

SLUH wrestling took to the mats again last Tuesday after an extended Christmas break in a match against Fox High School and Lindbergh. The Jr. Bills, after several consecutive practices, were anxious to get back to competing against Fox as multiple Covid concerns shook up the team. Luckily they came out swinging.  

Going into Christmas break, St. Louis U. High’s varsity hockey team prepared to enter a difficult stretch of games that was primed to define their season regardless of results. Five matchups against four teams in the top half of the Mid States Club Hockey standings awaited the Jr. Bills, who looked to build off of a strong start to the season that featured just one loss and one tie. 

SLUH wrestling is finally back on the mats this season as they prepare to overcome the odds stacked against them. After losing a talented senior class last year, including state-contenders Bobby Conroy and Logan Neumann, the team now features a smaller but dedicated group of upperclassmen and a growing number of new wrestlers.

The St. Louis U. High rifle team opened the doors to the range in November to begin practicing for the team’s 77th season. The team consists of 34 total shooters, nine of whom are freshmen. Recent positive changes to Covid protocols have created a spark for the team, and have the coaches eagerly awaiting scores and a trip to Camp Perry Ohio to compete in Nationals.

After cruising through its first match against CBC, the varsity racquetball team won its match against Kirkwood 6-0 and had several deep runs in the annual Winter Rollout Tournament. 

The St. Louis U. High hockey team faced off against Rockwood Summit in their only game this week. In a game that was closely contested to the last period, the Jr. Bills slipped out of the Fenton Ice Rink with a 5-2 win, improving their record to 6-1-1. Trailing only CBC in their division, SLUH looks to capitalize on a strong second half of the season in order to claim the top playoff spot.

Senior Jack DuMont will be taking his baseball talents to St. Louis University next year, after announcing his signing with the Billikens last month. He represents one of the first members of the talented Class of 2022 to officially sign on to play athletics in college. For DuMont, though, the announcement has been a long time coming. Ever since he was a kid, baseball was the only thing on his mind.

A momentous roar erupted from the St. Louis U. High student section as the final seconds ticked down in the annual Jesuit Cup game last Friday. For the seventh straight year, the hockey team brought the Jesuit Cup back to Oakland.

The basketball team tipped off its season last Friday with a 57-53 win against Father Tolton out of Columbia, Mo., and followed this early action with a tight 50-46 loss against Cardinal Ritter on Tuesday. 

After a long fall season of ladder tournaments and challenge matches, the varsity racquetball team is ready to make a push at its 11th straight National Championship. Plus, after last season's Nationals were canceled due to the pandemic, the varsity team is especially anxious to reclaim its title in 2022. They started off on the right foot two weeks ago when they went 6-1 against a talented CBC team.

Following a great performance at State, some of the top runners on the SLUH cross country programs decided to take their skills up to Terre Haute Indiana to compete at Nike Cross Regionals at the Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course. Despite having just come off of a hard week competing at state, the team still ran some phenomenal races and managed to come away with the meet with some hardware.

On the horizon a squad emerges, drenched in success, hoisting a wooden Missouri shaped trophy triumphantly in the air, the largest anyone has seen all year. Last Friday and Saturday the St. Louis U. High Swim & Dive team claimed third place in the state, while setting three new state records in the process.

SLUH Hockey is back on the ice in a big way. In their first three games of the season, they dealt crushing blows to Francis Howell and Marquette and just narrowly lost to perennial powerhouse CBC. With a 2-1 record and 12 goals already, this year’s team, packed with seniors, is ready to turn heads and make a deep run at state.

The Varsity Blue Rocket League team took fifth place in their state playoff last Saturday after cruising through the consolation bracket following a tough opening round loss to Rock Bridge Gold.

The SLUH Football playoff run came to a halt with a 42-21 defeat against top-seeded CBC last Friday. Yet, this monumental season will be remembered for much more than the team’s final loss.

The time has come. Today, the Jr. Bills will be immersed in a great war of the waters; a bout that decides the fate of the state. After asserting their district dominance last week they now seek to snag a state title. Today the swimmers are competing in the prelims portion of the meet, in which they fight to qualify for tomorrow’s finals, which will take place at 3:00 p.m. in the St. Peters Rec-Plex. Understandably, hopes are high going into the meet.

The SLUH Varsity Blue Rocket League team mounted an impressive comeback against Francis Howell Central Silver and swept Ozark High School to earn their spot in the upcoming state playoffs. 

The SLUH Jr. Billikens went up against the toughest teams in the state last Friday at the Gans Creek State course in Columbia, and the fastest times that the course has ever seen to bring home a fourth-place trophy, adding to their four-year podium streak. Finishing just five points behind third-place Liberty North, the Bills finished the season with a strong closing race to cap off a great year. By putting three racers in the top 25, each earning All-State designations, SLUH tied its record for most All-State runners at a State meet, proving the immense competition Missouri running has produced this year.